COVID numbers skyrocket in county | News, Sports, Jobs

By DEANNE JOHNSON

Editor-in-chief

LISBON – COVID-19 figures have again started to climb in Columbiana County, almost doubling this week compared to a week ago.

According to figures from the Columbiana County Health Department, there were 250 new cases between August 25 and September 1, an average of 35.7 per day. Between September 1 and 9, the county recorded 418 new cases.

From Friday to Friday between September 3 and September 10, the county increased by 461 cases, a seven-day average of 65.8, with 296 cases the previous seven days. There have been a total of 10,738 cases in the county since the start of the pandemic.

Current daily case totals are roughly where they were in November 2020, when cases increased over the holidays and in January. Health Commissioner Wes Vins said if this is where it is heading again, there is still a long way to go to the top of that peak, but he believes this time around, with the vaccinations available, many cases might be unnecessary.

The 13-county region that includes Columbiana County has seen an increase in hospital admissions from around 400 to 600 people in just 12 days. The county had a recent coronavirus-related death on August 31, bringing the county’s total to 237.

In addition, those tested are now more likely to be positive. The positivity rate in Columbiana County was 11.7% of those who took a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

This time around, the health ministry reports that there are more cases involving children. About 25 percent of new cases are minors under the age of 18. With the return of schools, this is worrying and leads to many questions from parents. A letter has been written to parents giving them information on how long a person must be quarantined due to exposure to someone with COVID-19.

One option is to stay home for at least 14 days after the person’s last contact. Another is to stay home for at least 10 days and have no symptoms. A third option is to return seven days after the last exposure, but only with proof of a negative test result from a test performed five or more days after exposure.

However, a fully vaccinated person or student, who received their last dose of vaccine at least 14 days earlier, does not need to self-quarantine.

Laura Fauss, head of public information in the health department, said anyone 12 and older is eligible for vaccination at this point, which could help improve the situation in local schools, where many students are forced to miss school to self-quarantine.

Although the Columbiana County Department of Health continues to assist the Public Consulting Group, which has been hired by the State of Ohio for tracing, there is a backlog. Some residents may not receive a phone call right away or receive an SMS warning them that they have been exposed and may need to monitor for symptoms and possibly self-quarantine.

Fauss said it is important for those who are sick to stay home, even though they think it may just be a cold. There are currently cases of other communicable diseases in the county, including hand, foot and mouth disease and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The Department of Health continues to work with schools to try to keep students in school.

“The community needs to understand how hard schools, nurses, staff, coaches all work to keep their students in school,” says Wines.

Although more people have been vaccinated, Vins said the county’s vaccination rate is much lower than the state of Ohio and lower than the national average. As of Friday, 41.28% of the county’s residents had started the vaccination process, including 73.3% of 65-69 year olds; 80.4 percent of 70-74; 75.9% of the 75-79 age group and 76.2% of the 80 and over age group.

Statewide, 56.94 percent of residents 12 and older have completed the vaccination.

While many are reluctant to get vaccinated, Vins said it was not possible to have 20 years of data to support a vaccine against a new virus, the technology behind mRNA vaccines dates back long before the coronavirus. Vins said the same technology was used in Ebola vaccines. He hopes people will listen to those who have been hospitalized with COVID-19, who later say they wish they had been vaccinated.

“The technology has been very successful”, says Wines. “Vaccinated people have an overwhelming majority of reduced symptoms, avoid necessary hospitalizations and death. It’s a good vaccine.

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